One Fans Blog: Agumon's Adventures of the Halloween Tree
The Halloween Tree is a 1993 feature-length animated fantasy-drama television movie produced by Hanna-Barbera based on Ray Bradbury's 1972 fantasy novel of the same name. It is the winner of the Daytime Emmy Award. The film tells the story of a group of trick-or-treating children who learn about the origins and influences of Halloween when one of their friends is spirited away by mysterious forces. The Halloween Tree stars Ray Bradbury as the narrator and Leonard Nimoy as the children's guide, Mr. Moundshroud. Bradbury also wrote the film's Emmy Award winning screenplay. The film is the second Halloween episode and 13th overall episode of Agumon's Adventures, a crossover series produced by Garfiled1990 in association with Saban Entertainment and Toei Animation. It was updated as a video and transcript in October 2016 on YouTube, Dailymotion, One Fans Blog and Zippcast. Summary On Halloween, when the spirit of Pipkin is in serious danger, his four friends Tom, Wally, Jenny and Ralph must try to save him. At the same time, after the marriage of Thumbelina and Cornelius at the Vale of the Fairies in France, the Digi-Squad and their comrades teleport to their time on another mission. to only join them, but also befriend a group of friendly ghosts and ghouls including Casper, Wendy, Spooky and the Ghostly Trio. The whole gang encounter a mysterious man called Moundshroud, along with the Saurians and the Digimon's newly reborn old rival DemiDevimon, who took them on a magical journey that take transport them back as far as 4,000 years and touches down in exotic countries of the world including Egypt, England (United Kingdom), France and Mexico. During their journey, the heroes and the children explore the magic of Halloween, and discover the meaning of friendship. Plot The film opens to the voice of a narrator (Ray Bradbury) describing one small town's preparations for Halloween night. Four friends are shown at their respective homes donning costumes excitedly: Jenny as a witch, Ralph as a mummy; Wally as a monster; and finally Tom Skelton as a skeleton. They all hurry so as not be late meeting up with each other and their best friend, Joe Pipkin, who is described as "the greatest boy who ever lived". Jenny, Wally, Ralph and Tom meet up, but Pip is absent. Believing it a trick, as Pip would never miss his favorite holiday, the four head to Pip's home at the edge of town. However, when they arrive, Pip's house is bare of decoration, with no pumpkins or bowls of candy set out on the porch, and Pip is being loaded into an ambulance. Before that, Pip has written a note pinned to the front door that explains that he is being rushed off for an emergency but that he does not want to spoil their Halloween but has to go to the hospital due to "something about his appendicitis" (implying that he is in severe or life-threatening need of appendectomy). Pip ends the note telling his friends to continue without him and using his catch phrase, "Ready, set, go!", declaring that he will catch up later. The four friends feel they cannot start Halloween without him, so they follow the ambulance to visit him at the hospital. Tom suggests they take a short-cut through the woods, known to be a frightening place, and Wally reminds him it would take them through a dark and eerie ravine. As they approach it, they see what looks like Pip running through the path which cuts through the ravine. Wally thinks he can see right through Pip, but Ralph shrugs it off. Tom, convinced that Pip has designed this elaborate hoax for his friends, leads them on. The group races after Pip through the mysterious and twisting forest path, going deeper into the shadowy ravine. Falling behind Pip along the way, they wind up outside a towering and darkened mansion. After knocking on the door they meet a man named Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud. Moundshroud expresses disappointment that none of the children know what their costumes symbolize. The children learned that Moundshroud is after the ghost of Pip, whom they followed to the house. And on top of all that, Pip is after a pumpkin with his face carved into it and he escapes with it to avoid appointment with him. Tom begs Moundshroud to let them come and help bring back Pip. Though Moundshroud initially refuses, as they know nothing of the true origins of Halloween, he relents — if they can keep up with him before dawn, then they might just be able to retrieve the pumpkin and get Pip back, while also going on a scavenger hunt of sorts to learn why they are dressed as they are and where Halloween comes from. Moundshroud fashions a giant kite from hundreds of posters from the side of an abandoned barn (with the children serving as the tail) and they begin their pursuit. Pip uses the magic of the pumpkin to travel back over 4,000 Halloweens ago, and the group follows. This children travel to Halloweens past, learning the significance of and history and tradition behind their costumes. First, they travel to Egypt to learn of the first ever celebration of Halloween called 'The Feast of Ghosts' where family members actually eat dinner with their deceased relatives and left food on doorsteps with lanterns to feed the spirits that had no families, which the children think resembles trick-or-treat traditions. Following Pip's spirit to a tomb, they learn about the significance of mummification. Sliding down the air vent, Ralph finds Pip whose sarcophagus has a baseball, a glove, and a bat on it instead of the traditional rods and serpents. He begs Pip to come back, whispering that Pip is the only one never to make fun of his glasses, but Pip assures him that he never needs to worry about being made fun of. Before Ralph could get him out, a group of priests arrive to take Pip's sarcophagus and brought it to the room where the other children and Moundshroud (disguised as a mummy) is. Ralph, pretending to be a re-animated mummy, scares the priests away to save Pip. But when Moundshroud confronts him again, Pip uses his pumpkin to fly up through the air vent to the top of the pyramid and escape, leading him and the children to continue following him. In pursuit of Pip, Moundshroud and the children arrived in England where they observe the celebration of 'New Year's Eve' (an early version of All Hallow's Eve) marking the 'true end of summer and cold start of winter'. At Stonehenge, Moundshroud explains to the children that in the dark ages, people transform into wild beasts after they die during the year. Pip then appeared as a black cat and ran away from the group. Next, they also come across a field of straw being harvested and made into brooms. Encouraged by Moundshroud, the children brought the magic brooms to life and use them to fly. At that time, Jenny reveals she has fear of heights, but the other kids reminded her that she can ride the broom as if it were her bicycle, promoting her to overcome her fear. Later, the children and Moundshroud encounter a coven of witches who are chanting and celebrating the new year as well; here they learn the origin and myths of witches. An angry mob of villages then arrive to burn down the witches' town, and Moundshroud and the children escape. Pip then briefly appears on a flying broom, but is knocked down to fall after a power struggle with Moundshroud over his pumpkin. Jenny quickly saves Pip and he reminds her that he once talked her down from an apple tree and that she is very brave, braver than she knows, before he disappears in the direction of France, with the others along with Moundshroud following him from behind. They travel to the city of Paris, and stop at the sight of an unfinished Notre Dame Cathedral (which they finish in a matter of minutes with Moundshroud's magic) to learn of the Cathedral's use of gargoyles and demons to ward off evil spirits on the Middle-European celebration of All Soul's Night. The children then noticed Pip as a gargoyle holding his pumpkin, after he calls them out. Pip speaks to Wally who climbs to reach a Pip-shaped gargoyle holding his pumpkin. It is revealed that Gargoyles can only speak when wind and water move over their mouths. After Pip tells him that he is dying, Wally begs him to come with them, reminding Pip that he has been very kind to Wally about his being so awkward, to which Pip reassures him that he is a great friend and not awkward at all; then says goodbye to him. Unwilling to let Pip pass away, Wally frees him and his pumpkin, letting him fly in high-speed again, and the children, riding on the gargoyles which then come to life, and Moundshroud took chase after him once again. They finally arrive in Mexico, where the significance of 'calacas' (skeletons) is revealed. The children see people selling skeleton dolls in costumes, selling toy funeral processions, and going from door to door to get special cookies, sugar candy skulls, and other treats while picnics and hordes of flowers are taken by happy families to the cemeteries where their families are, fireworks erupting in the sky and candles are lit to allow celebrating all night. They learn that this is called the Day of the Dead. After eating a sugar skull with each of their names on it, the children are told by Mr. Moundshroud that the celebration focuses on being "Glad, oh so glad that you are alive!", and is celebrated as a means of overcoming one's fear of death thereby causing it to lose its power over them in life. They finally follow Pip, who is growing weak into an old tomb in Mexico, but they are afraid that they are too late to save him. Being brave enough to enter the tomb as the skeletons come to life, Tom ran up to Pip without being overtaken by the skeletons and mummies which then fell apart. Tom apologized to Pip, admitting that he feels guilty for the whole ordeal because he wanted to lead the group for once. Pip smiles and forgives him, promising to let him lead anytime he wants as Tom grabs his hand. But then, Pip's spirit crumbles into the dust and is gone, much to the horror of his friends. Moundshroud, unveiling and holding Pip's recovered pumpkin, tells the children they did not make it in time and Pip is now his property, symbolized by his own pumpkin. The children, eager to have their friend back, offer a year from each of their lives in exchange for Pip's. Moundshroud accepts the deal and takes a sugar skull with Pip's name on it, breaking it into four pieces, and has each of them eat it to seal the bargain. Pip's spirit is then revived as quickly as possible, and he snatches his pumpkin back from Moundshroud's arms and flies out of the tomb. The group is then immediately teleported home to the present. Once they have arrived at his house, Moundshroud thanked the children for everything and told them to see the 'last grand trick-or-treat' as the clock is heard chiming. The children rush to Pip's house once more to see if the entire ordeal was in fact real, and are delighted to see their friend back from the hospital. He recounts the journey as a dream he experienced during surgery. The children then ran back to their own houses to remember this special night and adventure, and the movie ends with Moundshroud disappearing into a pumpkin shaped like him after blowing out its "one last candle", while the Halloween Tree is assaulted by strong winds, blowing all the pumpkins away into the sky— all except for Pip's pumpkin, which remains on his porch. Main Character Teams Heroes Digimon (also known as the Digi Squad) * Agumon: ** Koromon: ** Greymon: * Gabumon: ** Tsunomon: ** Garurumon: * Biyomon: ** Yokomon: ** Birdramon: * Tentomon: ** Motimon ** Kabuterimon: * Palmon: ** Tanemon: ** Togemon: * Gomamon: ** Bukamon: ** Ikkakumon: * Patamon: ** Tokomon: ** Angemon: * Gatomon: ** Salamon: ** Angewomon: Other Teams Duelists * Yugi Muto: * Joey Wheeler: * Tristan Taylor: * Tea Gardner: Piñatas * Franklin Fizzlybear: * Fergy Fudgehog: * Paulie Pretztail: * Hudson Horstachio: * Les Galagoogoo: The Pandas of Pandasia * Toby: * Oscar: * Cool: * Love: * Max: Gremlins: * Gizmo: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles * Leonardo * Donatello * Raphael * Michelangelo New Ally: The Casper Team (later the Friendly Ghosts and Ghouls) * Casper the Friendly Ghost * Wendy the Good Little Witch * Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost * Poil the Ghost: * The Ghostly Trio: ** Fatso: ** Stinkie: ** Stretch: Villains The Saurians * Lord Dragaunus: * Siege: * Chameleon: * Wraith: Newly Resurrected Villains: * DemiDevimon: Cast * Tom Fahn as Agumon ** Brianne Siddall as Koromon ** Michael Lindsay as Greymon * Kirk Thornton as Tsunomon/Gabumon/Garurumon * Tifanie Christun as Yokomon/Biyomon ** Melodee Spevack as Birdramon * Jeff Nimoy as Motimon/Tentomon/Kabuterimon * Anna Garduno as Tanemon/Palmon ** Mari Devon as Togemon * R. Martin Klein as Bukamon/Gomamon/Ikkakumon * Laura Summer as Tokomon/Patamon ** Dave Mallow as Angemon * Edie Mirman as Salamon/Gatomon/Angewomon * Derek Stephen Prince as DemiDevimon * Mike Reynolds as Gennai * Dan Green as Yugi Muto * Wayne Grayson as Joey Wheeler * Gregory Abbey as Tristan Taylor * Amy Birnbaum as Tea Gardner * Marc Thompson as Franklin Fizzlybear * David Willis as Fergy Fudgehog * Brian Millard as Paulie Pretztail * Dan Green as Hudson Horstachio * Eric Stuart as Les Galagoogoo * Julie Lemieux as Toby * Jamie Watson as Oscar * Lyon Smith as Cool * Elise Baughman as Love * Terry McGurrin as Max * Howie Mandel as Gizmo * Cam Clarke as Leonardo * Barry Gordon as Donatello * Rob Paulsen as Raphael * Townsend Coleman as Michelangelo * Tim Curry as Lord Draguanus * Clancy Brown as Siege * Frank Welker as Chameleon * Tony Jay as Wraith * Ray Bradbury as Narrator * Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Moundshroud * Annie Barker as Jenny * Alex Greenwald as Ralph * Andrew Keegan as Wally * Edan Gross as Tom * Kevin Smets as Pip (as Kevin Michaels) Additional Voices * Mark L. Taylor * Darleen Carr * Lindsay Crouse Credits Digimon Adventure (Digimon: Digital Monsters) * Created by Akiyoshi Hongo * Directed by Hiroyuki Kakudo * Produced by Keisuke Okuda * Written by Satoru Nishizono * Music by Takanori Arisawa * Production: Toei Animation Co., Ltd. (Japan) * English Version by Saban Entertainment, Inc. * Presented and Sponsored by Bandai Co., Ltd. (Japan) Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Yu-Gi-Oh!) and Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie * Directed by Kunihisa Sugishima and Hatsuki Tsuji * Produced by Hidetaka Ikuta, Naoki Sasada and Noriko Kobayashi * US Producers: Lloyd Goldfine, Katia Milani and Michael Pecerlello * Written by Junki Takegami, Atsushi Maekawa, Shin Yoshida, Akemi Omode * US Writers: Michael Pecerlello Norman J. Grossfeld * Based on Characters by Kazuki Takahashi * Music by Shinkichi Mitsumune * US Music by Elik Alvarez, Joel Douek and Freddy Sheinfeld * Production: Studio Gallop (Japan) * English Version by 4Kids Entertainment * Additional Animation by Nihon Ad Systems, Inc (Japan) * Distribution: Toho Co., Ltd. (Japan) and Warner Bros. Pictures Viva Piñata * Produced by Bardel Entertainment and 4Kids Entertainment * Animation Production: TMS Entertainment, Co., Ltd. (Japan) * Based on the Video Game Series by Rare Ltd. and Krome Studios for Microsoft Studios and THQ * Created by Norman J. Grossfeld and Llyod Golfdine Pandalian * Created and Produced by TVbean (Taiwan), Fuji Creative Corporation (Japan) and Planet Inc. (Japan) * Licensed and Distributed by Nelvana, Ltd. and Funimation Productions, Ltd. * Music by Koichiro Kameyama Gremlins: * Created by Steven Spielberg * Produced by Amblin Entertainment * Animation of Gizmo by Warner Bros. Animation * Distribution: Warner Bros. Pictures Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles * Produced by Mirage Studios and Surge Licensing * Created and Developed by David Wise and Patti Howeth * Directed by Yoshikatsu Kasai, Fred Wolf and Tony Love * Produced by Rudy Zamora, Walt Kubiak, Andy Luckey, Fred Wolf and Kara Vallow * Executive Producer: Mark Freedman Casper * Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series * Created by Marty Isenberg, Robert N. Skir and David Wise * Based on "The Mighty Ducks" Written, Produced and Directed by Stephen Herek, Jon Avnet and Jordan Kerner and Steven Brill * Developed by Marty Isenberg, Robert N. Skir, David Wise, Gordon Kent * Production: Walt Disney Television Animation * Distribution: Buena Vista Television * Sponsored by National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks The Halloween Tree * Produced and Directed by Mario Piluso * Executive Producer: David Kirschner * Co-Executive Producer: Mark Young * Associate Producer: Kunio Shimamura * Written and Narrated by Ray Bradbury * Based on the Work by Ray Bradbury * Music by John Debney * Production: Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. * Animation Production: Fil-Cartoons, Inc. (Philippines) Production Notes Trivia * Casper the Friendly Ghost and his friends guest star in this episode, and so did the newly ressurected DemiDevimon from Digimon: Digital Monsters. But in the post-credits scene, it was announced that the Casper Team, or later renamed the Friendly Ghosts and Ghouls will join the Digi-Squad and other hero teams. Goofs and Mistakes * Ownership Rights * Transcript Agumon's Adventures of the Halloween Tree/Transcript